Baltimore Harbor Struggles from Sewage Spills and Stormwater Pollution, New Report Shows

Baltimore’s waterways continue to suffer from harmful pollution, according to Blue Water Baltimore’s annual report card. The report provides overall ecosystem health scores across several Baltimore-area waterways. According to this year’s report, much of the Inner Harbor and Patapsco River have experienced moderate to significant health declines in the last 15 years.

While this cannot be attributed to a single source, scientists have identified the following trends in recent years:

• Stormwater runoff, which washes toxic pollutants off roads and sidewalks into our waterways when it rains, remains a big problem and is only worsening from increased development and more intense storms from climate change.

• Maryland has made significant progress reducing wastewater pollution from going directly into the Chesapeake Bay. However, consistent sewage overflows remain a huge issue in Baltimore and the city’s current efforts via consent decree are long overdue.

• Baltimore’s water quality has slowly declined and will continue to do so if jurisdictions stick to the status quo.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Maryland Staff Scientist Gussie Maguire issued the following statement:

“Baltimore’s in a race against climate change, and clean water is the prize. Unfortunately, pollution got a head start, and more intense precipitation is widening the gap. The investments and improvements made to date have kept us from falling behind, but are simply not enough to see real water quality gains. And it’s the people in Baltimore who lose.

“Sewage overflows are far too commonplace. Stormwater runoff remains the fastest growing pollution source in the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed.

“But the solutions are clear. Baltimore must repair its outdated sewage infrastructure and tighten stormwater pollution regulations swiftly and aggressively. It’s not easy or flashy, but it is the only way we’ll get a leg up in this race.”